March 20, 2014

SINCE 1948???

After A Long War, Can NYU and the Village Ever Make Peace?

By Eli Rosenberg

Greenwich Village was up in arms.New York University was seeking to expand again, this time on the south side of Washington Square Park, and the plan was not going over well in the historically low-rise neighborhood. Residents formed protest groups, pledging to "Save Washington Square," warning that NYU was on the verge of taking over the park. They framed the conflict as a battle for territory. "What we want to know is when NYU is going to put a stop to its expansion along Washington Square," a leader of a local group told the New York Times. "It has beenknown for years as a residential section, and we're going to see that it stays that way." A quarter-century before, the school's chancellor had admitted that he hoped the school would eventually surround the square, taking the park for its campus. It was 1948.